Arsenal vs Aston Villa – player ratings

After a bad week, a win…not a victory swathed in beauty, but success nonetheless. Here are the player ratings, they’re not shabby unless you happen to have a complicated Polish name.

Wojciech Szczesny: 4/10 – Oh dear. Decent stop in the first half from N’Zgobia (although he again failed to tip the ball around the post) followed by second half disaster letting Weimann’s speculative drive slip through his fingers.

Carl Jenkinson: 7/10 – Much improved from his rusty showing against Sunderland. Bombed up and down the right wing, won plenty of ball and threw a couple of decent crosses into the box.

Nacho Monreal: 8/10 – Great to see him ordering defensive cohorts around in the first half and secured his first assist for the club with a fine pull back for Cazorla to bag the winner. Looks a very promising addition to the squad.

Thomas Vermaelen: 7/10 – Far more comfortable in the centre of defence, his distribution was neat and he dealt well with the threat of compatriot Benteke.

Per Mertesacker: 7/10 – Read the game well and unlike Tuesday returned to making simple passes to Arteta. Helped Vermaelen snuff out threat of Benteke but like the Belgian was caught chasing after Weimann for the goal having gone forward for a corner.

Abou Diaby: 6/10 – Far from spectacular and having picked up an injury early in the second period you can’t help but wonder whether he’ll now enter the usual 2-3 week sidelined twilight zone.

Mikel Arteta: 7/10 – A couple of stray passes in the first period (can we put that down to his new boots?) was followed by a far more dynamic and energetic final half hour. Won plenty of ball and spread play well.

Jack Wilshere: 8/10 – Drove at the Villa defence in the build-up to Cazorla’s first before providing a delightful chipped pass which freed Monreal to tee-up the winner. A couple of moments of real quality on a quieter day.

Santi Cazorla: 9/10 – Two goals scored with clinical finishes from each foot. The diminutive Spaniard was back to his best with an impish performance that bamboozled Villa throughout. Not only a threat in the box he repeatedly wriggled free of his markers to provide much needed momentum.

Olivier Giroud: 7/10 – A little bit of good, a little bit of bad…but naturally none of the ugly (too handsome for that). He held the ball up well throughout the game but the decisive finishing displayed in January appears to have deserted him. Did hit the bar with a header but probably should have converted the chance.

Theo Walcott: 6/10 – Struggled to assert himself on the game and often decided to tuck inside when his width might have been useful. Obviously doesn’t have the same connection with Jenkinson as he does Sagna. All in all pretty quiet.

Subs

Aaron Ramsey: 7/10 – Another encouraging performance from the Welshman. On early in the second half for Diaby he didn’t put a foot wrong in midfield before slotting in as an auxiliary right-back when Jenkinson was sacrificed for Podolski. Dare we say Grimandi-esque in his versatility.

Lukas Podolski: 5/10 – Didn’t look too interested when he came on despite us chasing the game. Was nowhere near two crosses which flashed across the six-yard box and appeared pretty lackadaisical in his attitude to tracking back.

143 COMMENTS

Ramsey has already played this season as an attacking midfield,defensive midfielder,left wing,right wing and now as a full back.And looking at Chesney keep you can’t rule out him as a keeper. Hope he starts in the game against the spuds

Was very happy with the three points, but did anyone see Poldi? He seemed disinterested and looked the same during the Bayern game, he came on yesterday and didn’t look like he gave a shit, then at the final whistle went down the tunnel as quickly as he could…

There is a very good reason for Podolski seeing less and less of the pitch. He’s been lazy for a while now. Never comes back to cover for the left back and often is found sulking when he’s not the center piece. He’s had some fantastic play at times, but lately he does look rather disinterested, as pointed out by Goon Army.

Actually, if you watch footage on MOTD you’ll notice that seconds before this shot of Kos & Chambo looking disinterested, they glanced at each other with a cheeky smile and a MASSIVE sigh of relief. So they do care. Jenks just chooses to be more extraverted about it.

As for Poldi, yes he lacked the sharpness about him but don’t think it’s because he doesn’t care. Remember the way he single-handedly destroyed West Ham at Emirates last month in a game we HAD to win? Just wondering why he’s been rested so often recently…

Agree with what Rufusstan said, and to add the post, by the looks of it, Ramsey isn’t in it to be a superstar figure (not sure Jack is either, just that he’s become as much), but rather to get down and get on with it, do a job and do it well. One of the reasons I like him a lot. His hard work is finally paying off.

I’ve never really understood the competition for a goalkeeper argument. It seems like all great keepers have never had great understudies. Look at Seaman, Kahn and Casillas.

I think it’s more important for a keeper to know he’s number one choice, otherwise they can try too hard to impress or freakout. I mean, if Chezzer is suffering from a lack of confidence, bringing in a new keeper will only make that worse.

I agree we need a better replacement for when he’s injured though. So I guess my point is moot.

@Dr.Love
That’s because they never came in at 20 and right away became the number one keepers in their teams. Szcz is young, promising and he badly needs a moulding. That’s the argument for an experienced keeper.

Monreal looking like a solid defender it’s good there’s competition for left back slot, we need a second keeper to rival szez so he knows he won’t be playing every week even if he plays bad, jack is just a fucking legend

We all had such high hopes for Diaby, but he’s either injured or playing “with the handbrake on” due to his fears of injury. We cannot keep carrying someone in such an important position in the middle of the park.

If we do end up with a new manager at the end of this, or next season, then I have a feeling he’ll be one of the first getting shipped out. However, while Arsene is manager, I can see the club continuing to play him when he’s “fit”.

That’s the saddest thing about the Diaby situation. Its never been for lack of effort or his attitude towards the game, he just seems to be made of glass. I mean we need him to put in a solid string of games without getting injured in some way or another.

Glad for the win, loved the effort and dominance. Yet two sources of constant, mind-numbing frustration from this season came out in force again today:
1. Olivier Giroud displaying excellent movement and missing easy chances. Okay, this wasn’t as bad as usual, but he has to score that goddamn header, like he has to score the last 27 chances he’s been presented with.
2. The opposition being more likely to score from Arsenal corner kicks than Arsenal. Our impotence from corners is infuriating to begin with, and that this is at least 90% the fault of the delivery is all the more ridiculous when you realize we have a team full of players that are great at free kicks in FIFA. So when we are up a goal and the other team gets a four-on-two break from a corner of ours, my coffee table gets a few more dents in it.

Team full of midgets means that someone should pull their head outta their booty and money-ball our best practices on set pieces; hey here’s a novel idea…on corners put two of our short guys (Theo/Santi/Jack) and play it short for god sake. The havoc it causes would be best and it pulls at least 2-3 defenders out of the box and allows a closer, high-percentage cross. Barca do it for a reason, god know’s how many times we’ve been caught out on counters following s*&t corners…

I don’t think that is what he’s paid to do. Would like to see more goals in his game for sure, but he’s not van Persie, scoring hundreds of goals on his own. Giroud, Podolski, Walcott and Cazorla are all into double figures for the season with the goals being spread around the team.

Part of that is because Giroud brings the players behind him into play which as much what he’s paid to do as finding the net himself I’d say…

Very accurate ratings I would perhaps have given Theo a 5 yesterday I believe we would have scored more if he had provided more width , there are times when he should act as a second striker and others where providing width would benefit the team more Feo needs to get the balance right and always think of the teams needs first .

The ratings are overly generous to a squad that, for whatever reason, took its foot off the pedal after scoring the first goal. The remainder of the match was an exhibition in frustration as they really never got it going and were beaten to many balls by a much faster Villa squad. Take the 3 points for sure, but it was anything but convincing in how they achieved it. Full credit to Villa…they came to play and could have just as easily went home with not one, but three points. Arsenal are going through a crisis of confidence right now, the likes to which I have to go back a long way to recall. Don’t know what its going to take to rid themselves of the rather large monkey on their collective backs, but something has to give sooner or later.

Arteta was hopeless, he left his defensive midfield role and allowed the Villa attackers to attack the CBs all the time. Very dangerous against a better quality team.
Sze not good enough at this level. Reached his peak, already!!
Giruoud looks to be a blubering striker. No real skill nor instincts of a goal poacher. His only strength is his workrate. He does not attack the ball when ball is cut across
Wilshire, Cazorla, Nacho a were thegreat performers, yesterday. They will be the ones to save our seasonDiaby starting to get into the groove, but injured again. I fel for him, but in the harsh world of football, I afraid this maybe his last season with Arsenal. Sad for such a talented player.

1. Diaby played the defensive midfield role.
2. If you think Szczesny has peaked as a goalkeeper at age 22 then you clearly no nothing about football and/or are a shit soothsayer.
3. Giroud is having a tough time at the moment, as is the whole team. He’s showed his goalscoring instinct before, but the not attacking cutbacks and crosses thing is an issue in the team in general.

We’re only one point behind his lot and two behind Chelsea.
It’s funny, we’re having our worst season in 16 years yet we’re only a point behind Sp*rs who are having their best. Tells you a lot doesn’t it?

well I think he’s a player suited to attack , too bad this current arsenal team , the way we play he is required to run back and defend more than he should. I think that really frustrates him.
Looking at Cazorla when played left almost never provides any cover for the left back and given the freedom to cut in through the middle more than he should.
We really have different standards when critizing Poldi and Cazorla.

Honestly dont know what to make of poldi….after the many goals he has scored, his celebration have always been full of passion and joy for the club. Then one time (like yesterday) he’s subbed on when we are chasing a game and doesn’t look interested in the slightest.

I guess his desire and passion are inconsistent but i’ll keep the faith and hope he grows to love the club and fights for our cause like Jack.

That he doesn’t look shouting explosive all the time doesn’t necessarily mean he is not interested. I think it was a bit of understanding that we missed. Our left wingers are consistent with their crossing and thinking. That makes it easier for team-mates in the middle to read, to anticipate and time their run into and around the box.

It’s a bit inconsistent and difficult to predict on the right side. Walcott’s mindset is key for this. His tactical play (or lack of discipline) so far has been hard to figure out, unfortunately more for his own teammates than the opponents. Hopefully, it will come. Hopefully, Walcott’s mind will settle down and be focused on ‘helping’ his attacking partners to score more by building up some chemistry.

I know it was 3 points but I think the ratings may be a little generous. Games like this should be over by half time. I hate knocking the team but as JW said after the game its the players who need to take responsibility as its them that’s in the pitch!

I too was disappointed when I saw the Ox’ indifferent facial expression after our winner. Surely you support the club you play for! Seems that we need a better all round club spirit. More Jack & Santi’s please!

7 for jenks is very kind. He still looked uncomfortable dealing with their wingers and was culpable for a poor clearance in the equaliser. Hopefully he gets back to his form at the start of the season, otherwise I’d rather see some of the utility players like Ramsey/Coquelin filling in at RB.

I agree that Chamberline and Gervinho showed no lack of passion! Really pissed me off. Chamberline has had his chances this year and hasnt perform at all. But dont blast Kosicleny. He was celebrating, but the two other wasnt celebrating. We need that same team spirit as Barca. No wonder they are such a great team. Players who sit on he bench for 7 games straight, celebrate like they scored the goal. I also was disappointed in that, but saw the replay and he was celebrating. He went out of his chair..

I don’t see where he’ll fit in.
We’ll use him as a super sub. Take off cazorla or walcott in case they have one of their bad days. N they can have really bad days.
Poldi at left sub with ox or gervinho. Gervinho does make direct runs, just needs a bit of luck with the final ball. N ox needs to build his confidence first. Not ready for the spurs game. Still, he’s capable of producing sparks. So, gerv, ox is a more or less same deal. Poldi should start at left. Walcott right. Giroud cf.
Caz, wilshere, arteta cmfs.

Way too generous giving Girroud 7/10. Poor movement, how many times was the ball put across Villas box and he was nowhere near it. He tried to copy Kanus goal v Chelsea and lumped the ball wide. We desperately need a quality forward. I would of given him 4/10. Great game from Jack once more.

Not really just giving my opinion from Arseblogs ratings. I am season ticket holder and will remain one but giving thumbs down purely because I have criticised one player is too sensitive reaction and pretty negative. Please make point why Girroud deserves 7/10.

Sure, Giroud’s dozen-or-so missed chances is frustrating as fuck. However, his cute little ‘one-twos’ with Santi/Jack/Diaby/Theo were very encouraging to watch, and the neutral might even think they were watching Barcelona.

Obviously the boys practiced this in training after the Bayern disaster. I think it’s the right thing to do because those quick ‘one-twos’ just inside the penalty area is the best way to penetrate when the opponent ‘parks the bus’.

Giroud was central to this with his cute little ‘flicks’ and I believe this is why Blogs gave him a ‘7/10′.

To finish chances you have to be inside the box. He was awol whenever a decent ball was put across. He had one good header at goal but against this type of opposition he should be more of a threat. His distribution was clumsy and was slow when we broke forward. That’s my opinion but I also respect yours. I still believe we need a quality striker and like Girroud but do not have faith that he has the skill to be VPS permanent replacement.

Poldi was a joke. Abou had a solid performance but will never get the proper recognition bc he’s black. Jenkinson had a solid game, but his lack of clearance/indecision led to the Villa goal. He gets so many plaudits for having improved so much. This is the Prem. Improve on your own time

WTF @TrueGun!! I live in RSA and the country has struggled with this kind of attitude for a very very long time! Its this reason why people like you can not move forward and grow as a nation. Sorry I am rambling…. @TrueGun wake the fuck up

what an idiot you are truegun
and henry, vieira , wright , sagna , rocky , big sol , go plenty of it (and the list can easily get bigger)
stop finding racism everywhere, you life will get better
Diaby is half the time injured, when he isnt, he play half time shit,thats why people dont really like him,nothing to do with him been black

Alex song left for $15MM , underappreciated and WAY undervalued. Now plays for the best Team in the world. Theo Walcott has 19 goals this season and most of the people on this blog have been TRASHING that guy until recently (I know u band wagon jumpers will deny it) Sagna has been the best r back in the league for several years running and the poor bastard had to go public w/ the lack of interest Arsenal have shown in renewing his contract. Not to mention everyone being critical of his “drop in form”
Jenkinson is hailed as this great understudy……that idiot cost us a goal, a clean sheet, and nearly two points…all in just the villa game. That moron was only JUST allowed back into the prem bc of a STUPID red he recd after getting owned all game, again, nearly costing us 2 points……and no one has anything bad to say about that Carling Cup Maestro. Joke.

You’re the joke dumbitch.
Jenki was shit last season.
But, he’s like this totally new player this season.
Solid. Fast. Confident.
N that red. Second yellow. Ok, a bit naive but was unlucky as well with the mistimed challenge.

Are you all Girroud lovers watching Swans win? Sad the whole lot of you so unambitious. Buy a fucking striker. Let’s face it Girroud is good in slow paced game and is a handsome fucker but like Theo not good enough to bring trophies. Sad but true.

Why is a gooner in Manchester anyway? My advice would be to come back home they are all cunts up there. We are the real red army. Fuck van Persie and Nasri both cunts. Maybe its because I’m a Londoner blaa blaa fucking blaa

Great performance from Carzola. We show some grits in the last few league game. Look back of the 4 games recently, two league games with Villa and Sunderland, Blackburn and Bayern, I saw this Arsenal team lack the consistency mentally. There are always time when we don’t play well, but we need to show the grits and be mentally prepared to break team in more attempts and try till the last second.

There are deadwoods in the team who has the skill and technique but their mind not with Arsenal where they don’t give all.

Giroud is unfortunately looking more like the striker who played in Sept and Oct. He does alot of good things in terms of holding up the ball, little lay offs, good defensive headers ect . . . but it just seems like he does everything but score! He puts himself in great positions so the instinct is there but the finishing is quite poor compared to top quality strikers.
I want him to come good but how much better would things be if we had a more clinical striker starting most big games with Giroud as an option on the bench to bring on when chasing a game or if an injury happend to our clinical striker that Wenger never signed.
If LuLu is not starting on the left and since he doesn’t track back anyway, I wouldn’t mind seeing him be given a start up front if Giroud continues to misfire.